


Men Who Fear

by TheAngelofFate



Series: noticed there was a lack in Oscar & Ozpin stories so I decided to rectify that [12]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hugs, James you little shit, Papa Ozpin loves his boi, Talking, also for those wondering No I don’t ship fairgame, and Ozpin is PISSED, but still shows Oscar and Ozpin being supportive of each other, not really hurt/comfort this time, ozpin cares about Oscar and no one can tell me otherwise, ozpin defense squad, you shot a child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22541833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAngelofFate/pseuds/TheAngelofFate
Summary: In which James' plan to raise Atlas into the sky ends up failing anyway, with Salem's force overwhelming them and Ozpin has words with the broken General after the dust had cleared.(spoilers for Volume 7, episode 13, The Enemy We Trust)
Relationships: Ozpin & Oscar Pine
Series: noticed there was a lack in Oscar & Ozpin stories so I decided to rectify that [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552897
Comments: 11
Kudos: 189





	Men Who Fear

In the end, despite James' efforts, he had lost. His plans of raising Atlas high above the clouds had been dashed completely when Salem arrived far too soon for him to do so. Now there was all out panic in the streets of his once proud city in the sky and the city of Mantle down below. His Ace Ops, who had been loyal to him from the start were now branching off and doing whatever they could to take the remaining numbers of Atlas and send them off to Mantle below, because _anywhere_ must be safer than here.

And unbeknownst to them, Teams Rwby and JNR were attempting to do that same thing down below Mantle, trying to convince the people there to head towards Vacuo. But fear was everywhere, it filled the citizens, it filled the Ace Ops and more importantly, it filled James Ironwood. So much so that the Grimm were now swarming his city, attacking anything that dared to move. And off in the distance, towards the growing storm coming, was Salem, heading right for them on a vessel that looked to be made entirely of one single Grimm.

Oscar had asked him, what they could do next to save Atlas, save the people because right now that's what mattered. And Oz opted for Oscar to train in the short time they had, because now that his boy had unlocked the magic that flowed through him, that has flown through all of Ozma's incarnations, he was ready to master it, use it to how he saw fit.

And rather then tell him a lie, because that's what strained their relationship in the first place, Ozpin told him the truth, what he thought. _"I don't know if we can save Atlas or Mantle down below, but the people, we can try to save. Atlas is simply a city, the same with Mantle, Oscar. A city that can be rebuilt, but the citizens, the innocent lives are the most precious. With_ James _beyond reason, what we can do now is help anyone we can."_

And then without warning, Atlas _fell_.

With Salem's presence, and her overwhelming numbers of Grimm, she was able to push them all back enough for Cinder to find the Staff, and once retrieved, Atlas began to plummet, until it crashed and sank into the ground, causing a crater to form and dust to spread and more Grimm to appear. And when everything settled, the screams of panic and fear faded away, and as Oscar walked through the chaos of what looked like a bomb had gone off, he was able to him his friends. Penny, who now was the Winter Maiden and had managed to get the Lamp back from Cinder began fighting the Grimm, and was now protecting the remaining people that had survived while Teams Rwby and JNR ran towards him.

And there coming out of the rubble, who somehow had managed to survive the plummet, was Ironwood. Beaten and battered, but still very much alive. And they, he and Ozpin, watched as James looked around, saw the destruction, the chaos going on around him and promptly let out a scream of fury.

Oscar could feel Oz' _sadness_ for his friend but he could also feel his _irritation_ , his _frustration_ for Ironwood, over all the misdeeds that he did, the actions he choose to take, the people he abandoned and became a dictator instead of their protector, and most of all what he did, to Oscar. "Oz?" He asked, softly, weak from exhaustion. "Are you alright?"

Oz took a moment before replying, but his voice sounded tighter than it had been previously. _"Oscar?"_

Oscar blinked, "Yeah?"

" _Do you mind—that is, is it alright with_ you _, if I steered for a moment? I have something important I need to discuss with James."_

Oscar moved out of the way to help more survivors towards the safety of Team Rwby and the Ace Ops, the question catching him off guard and when he didn't answer right away he began to feel Oz' hesitation, his worry that he might have overstepped. "You're not gonna fight him, are you?"

Ozpin paused once again before answering, _"No, I have no plans to fight him, but truthfully that is really up to him, if he wishes to try and finish finish what he started. But I just want to talk,"_

"We saw how well that worked last time." Oscar couldn't help but mutter under his breathe and froze when he realized he said it out loud.

" _Oscar."_ Oz's voice held no anger, held no sharp tone he thought would be there. _"I will_ not _let him harm you again, I promise."_

Swallowing the lump, he hadn't realized had formed in his throat, Oscar nodded. "Okay, just be careful, he looks even worse than he had been before. I think he’s slipping far beyond even your reach.”

Oz's _relief_ and _gratitude_ washed over their mental link, and he could practically feel the man smile. _"Thank you, Oscar."_ And with that, for the first time in months, Ozpin took control once again. He grasped The Long Memory in his hand as he walked forward, but Oz was no cruel man, while he walked, he helped as many men, woman and children as he could before finally making the rest of his way to James.

And James, had turned at the right moment to see him walking, and promptly froze, eyes widening. "Oscar?"

Oz chuckled and shook his head, "Not quite, James."

If it was even possible, James' eyes grew with realization, " _Ozpin_?"

"Not so much in the flesh, but yes, I am."

Despite the fact that he knew of Oz's secrets and connection to Salem; for the first time, a light had brightened in James' eyes, where it had dimmed before and completely vanished once he shot Oscar through the chest. "Oz! I can't believe it! I had a feeling, I had this thought in my mind, that _maybe_ it was possible to finally reach you if Oscar was in danger and looks like it worked!”

Frustration filled Oz's eyes, as Oscar floated beside him, looking nervous, "Don't you try to turn what you did into something positive, James. _Don’t you dare_."

Ironwood blinked, "What _I_ did? All I'm _doing—_ all I've _ever_ done is what I think is right for the people I can—!"

Oz grasped The Long Memory in his hand and _struck_ the ground with it, shutting up James in seconds, "And _look_ what's become of _that_! You and I have an increasingly _horrible_ habit of letting out fears control us. But while _I've_ admitted my misdeeds, while I feel _guilt_ over them; you _still_ stand there, boldly and _stubbornly_ stating that you were still in the right? After seeing _all_ this chaos, after what just transpired? What has _happened_ to you, James?"

James' shoulder began shaking, his rage becoming visible. "I've become what I _needed_ for the greater fight ahead."

"And that requires losing your _heart_? James, our humanity should be the one thing Salem should _never_ take away from us!"

"Having humanity is a _weakness_ , Ozpin! The moment we soften, let our guards down, _that's_ when all hell breaks loose!" James hissed venomously, his eyes blazing with a fury Oz had seen in years. "That's _why_ I had to cast it aside, if I don't have it then Salem has no hold over me, then she has no power."

Ozpin's eye twitched at this; James' words struck a familiar _core_ with him, realizing that those were the _exact_ same words he said to Oscar, before he shooting his boy through the chest. "And does that justify what you did to Oscar, _General_?"

At the mention of Oscar, Ironwood once again, showed no emotion, _nothing_ at all. "He wouldn't see the bigger picture; he was in my way—"

"All he wanted to do was _talk_ , for you to see _reason_ , as _I_ would have! As I’ve always done! Because you know deep down in the walls you've built around your emotions that _this_ isn't right. Oscar just wanted to help you see that!" Green lightning sparked around him, Ozpin's hands shook with many different emotions, so he gripped The Long Memory tighter between his fingertips, forcing him to stay grounded to this moment, this very moment, "But instead you just _shot_ him, you watched him fall, believing he would die without a shred of regret on your face! You tried to kill a _child_ , James! All because I was there and you saw me as a threat, an obstacle." Oz's grip on his cane was so tight he could feel his knuckles turning white from lack of blood flow, but he breathed, and breathed, "And more so, you tried to kill _my_ child, someone that I have grown so fond over, that I have grown to deeply care for, someone that is _connected_ to me and loved by so many others, and you _shot_ him at point blank range and that's _unacceptable_."

Oz predicted many things in what James was prepared to say after his speech. The range of emotions and actions James could take, his disapproval of what he tried to do to Oscar, but he certainly _never_ expected what came from the General’ mouth next—

"You're immortal, Oz. You can just reincarnate again."

The world seemed to stop spinning in that moment.

Those words were what seemed to break Ozpin, to think that the _General_ really saw Oscar, saw _all_ the other incarnations of Ozma, including _himself_ as nothing more than expandable assets, was infuriating because it couldn't be further from the truth. Ozma and the others, himself and Oscar had put everything they had into this, sacrificed _so much_ to see Salem's defeat.

And to think James looked at _all that_ and simply saw _nothing_ of value, it was enough of a realization to shatter the lid on his resolve and therefore his magic.

For within a fraction of a second, Ozpin watched as James was flung backward, his back colliding with the same rubble he had previously pulling himself out off and dropped to the ground in a heap. "How _far_ can you possibly fall until you lose the man you were, James?"

And James, to his credit, managed to look back up at Ozpin and maintained his rage, as he continued to glare at Oz, still lacking no remorse for his actions. "As far as I need to go."

Closing his eyes, Oz took a moment to mourn the loss of yet another friend who had been corrupted negatively by Salem. First Leo had let his fear of death force him into joining Salem and him willingly killing countless beloved Huntsmen and Huntresses and now James was becoming a dictator, casting out his humanity, letting his own anger and paranoia blind him from doing the right thing.

Two great and respected men now stripped away and left bare with the worst parts of themselves. He can only hope and pray that Theodore hadn't fallen down the same road too. "Then you're as dangerous as she is, James. Look around you, you think this is a victory? You think that if your plan _had_ succeeded, and the people suffering and dying down in Mantle while a few survive with limited time is justified?"

Ozpin gave Ironwood one more pointed stare before turning his back on the man completely, " _You_ failed, General. Even if someone manages to defeat Salem someday. In the end, you, _Ironwood_ , will always be known as the broken man who abandoned Mantle because he was too frightened see his own flaws in his actions." And as Ozpin walked back towards the others, he couldn't help but falter slightly when he heard James let out another ear shattering scream.

Oscar made his concern and worry over him, very much known through their bond. _"Oz…?"_

Ozpin steeled himself and gave the young boy who was floating next to him a genuine smile, "Forgive me, Oscar. I didn't mean to take up so much time, you must be wanting to get back to our friends, correct?"

" _Oz."_ Then Oscar floated in front of him, halting his process to get back to the others. _"It's okay, I didn't… I—"_ The boy seemed to struggle for the right words, Ozpin could feel the hesitation there, the gratitude and love. But before Oscar could finished what he wanted to say, he was interrupted by their friends, coming the rest of the way towards them, having decided to meet him halfway.

Miss Rose was the first to take notice the change in Oscar's body language, "Professor?"

And for the first time since watching Oscar fall to his death, Oz felt his fear and guilt consume him, and for a split second, he thought of hiding again, but soon thought better of it knowing that it would have a negative effect on Oscar, and that's the last thing he wanted, knowing what the boy has already been through. Still though he felt himself freeze in place at their shared stares towards him, and upon instinct he prepared himself for another batch of yelling, especially from Miss Xiao Long and Qrow. "I am not expecting forgiveness, I'm not expecting you all to trust me after what I did, the secrets I kept. I know I do not deserve it, and you all have every right to distrust me, but just know I will do my best to be honest from here on out and I am truly sorry for my misdeeds."

Miss Rose chose to step forward, "Professor Ozpin, before I hadn't understood why you had kept so many secrets from us, but now after all _this_ , I'm starting to understand _why_ , with Professor Lionheart and now General Ironwood. I just feel this could have been prevented _had_ I said _something—_ "

Despite his own feelings, Ozpin was a teacher first, a pillar for his students to lean on. And if Miss Rose was feeling guilty then he would do his best to assure her, "Miss Rose, even if you had been completely truthful towards the General, I say with a _deep_ regret that James would have ended up exactly where he is now. Fear and paranoia can make people do irrational things, and for James. The _James Ironwood_ I grew to know, and respect fell the day that Beacon did. All was this that transpired were the result of his resolve finally breaking. Believe me when I say that you have nothing to feel guilty over."

She smiled at him and he, in turn, smiled back.

"Oz?"

Turning his head, Oz saw that there stood Qrow along with Robyn, who was holding the other man upright with a gentle hand under his elbow. Ozpin smiled, albeit nervously, "Hello, my friend."

Qrow scoffed, looking down at the pin that belonged to Clover and then towards James, who was now being held to his feet by Harriet. "Yeah, don't got many of those left on the list,"

Oz decided to take a chance and took a single step forward. "I hope that I'm still a part of that list."

Qrow gave him a sided glance, "Are you sorry?"

Ozpin nodded, without the slightest bit of hesitation, "Yes, deeply. I never meant for my past to hurt any of you."

"You gonna try and be a team player instead of keeping us all in the dark?"

Placing a hand over his heart, he swore, "I will hence forth keep no secrets concerning myself or Salem again, you all have my solemn vow.”

Qrow snorted, though there looked to be a sadness in his eyes. “It’s good to know I can still count on one friend." He smiled genuinely, with a nod of his head. "Alright, kiddos. Let's move our asses, Vacuo is waiting." Miss Xiao Long and Mr Arc gave him cautious glances, as they rightfully still didn’t trust him either, but despite that Ozpin smiled smiled regardless, feeling _relieved_ and happy for the first time in years, knowing that his allies, his cherished friends and _some_ of his students were all by his side again. 

And as they boarded the airship, he then felt Oscar's hesitation run through him, his embarrassment, but before the boy could even get a word out, Ozpin thanked him. "Thank you for giving me that chance to speak of the General, Oscar. It was very a much-needed discussion."

" _Did you really mean what you said before? When you told Ironwood that you cared… about me?"_ The question itself was innocent, it was the type of question a child would ask towards their parents, and yet Oscar was asking it towards him, wanting that confirmation, as any child would want.

Ozpin smiled then and then without warning; he gave Oscar back control only for the man to wrap the boy up in his arms, in his aura a moment later as an act of comfort, an embrace, to _really_ showed that he cared, as he gently squeezed the boy to him. " _Of course, I did, Oscar. There's not a day that goes by where I don't."_

And as he leaned the boy back against the cool wall of the airship, as he sent Oscar' all the _reassurance_ and _love_ he had to give, and as he watched his boy finally drift off with a smiled on his face, deliriously sending out all the same feelings towards Ozpin.

Oz for the first time, felt _whole_ again, felt that they still had a fighting chance.

**Author's Note:**

> So I started working on this little googy moments after I published my other recent Rwby fic, after thinking about it more and more I came to the conclusion that despite Ozpin's calm demeanor, he would not be okay with what James tried to do to Oscar and so I just had to write a moment where they'd have that discussion and plus Ozpin taking a stab at James for the shit pulled and the wrongs he choose to act upon was just too good a opportunity to pass up. Especially since one of those screw ups was point blank murdering a minor.
> 
> Tear into him, Oz. He deserves it.
> 
> Anywoo, hope you all enjoyed, feedback is always welcomed and appreciated down in the comments down below and I will see you all later.


End file.
